U.S. Labor Productivity Growth Unrevised At 3.0% In Q3

Labor productivity in the U.S. saw a notable increase in the third quarter, according to a revised report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday.

The report said labor productivity jumped by 3.0 percent in the third quarter, unchanged from the preliminary estimate. Economists had expected the increase in productivity to be upwardly revised to 3.3 percent.

The spike in productivity, a measure of output per hour, came as output shot up by 4.1 percent compared to a 1.1 percent increase in hours worked.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said unit labor costs fell by a revised 0.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the previously reported 0.5 percent increase. Costs had been expected to rise by a revised 0.2 percent.

The drop in unit labor costs came as the jump in productivity more than offset a 2.7 percent increase in hourly compensation. Real hourly compensation, which takes changes in consumer prices into account, rose by 0.7 percent.

Compared to the same quarter a year ago, productivity was up by 1.5 percent in the third quarter, as output climbed by 3.0 percent and hours worked increased by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, unit labor costs were down by 0.7 year-over-year in the third quarter, as the productivity growth offset a 0.8 increase in hourly compensation.

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